First published in Arman-e-Milli Daily, for now we’ll assume the following list has not been faked.

1. By convening a Loya Jirga Afghanistan should veto establishment of US permanent bases in Afghanistan. Instead, Pakistan will put pressure on Taliban and other armed oppositions to cooperate with Kabul and stop resistance;

Fair enough.

2. US is losing its influence in the region, so Pakistan, Afghanistan and China should form an economic bloc in the region to make China a superpower in the region;

Left India out of the equation?

3. The influence of resistance fronts [the forces who resist Taliban] should be weakened in the Government;

Sure. Let’s not forget who armed them in the first place.

4. The number of India’s political offices in Afghanistan should be decreased;

What about yours?

5. Baluch tribes of Pakistan who are currently operating inside Afghanistan should be expelled from Afghanistan;

Why?

6. The tribal elders from cross-border areas should be invited to the Loya Jirga;

Need official representatives in Afghan-only matters? Yes, they’re Pashtuns and we consider them Afghans, but seriously?

7. TAPI gas project should be only between Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan and India should be expelled from the deal;

Seriously?

8. Haqqani network should be represented in the future Government in Afghanistan;

Why not involve Lashkar-e-Toiba in a future Pakistani government?

9. Afghanistan should regard the views of Pakistan in appointing its defence, interior and intelligence chiefs and;

Why don’t we just appoint Pakistani generals? Or why don’t you just take care of that for us?

10. Afghanistan should officially recognize the Durand Line in the Loya Jirga.

Not even the Taliban went for this one and this has been one of the main reasons why Pakistan has been involving itself in Afghan matters throughout the last 30 years.

I also found the lyrics and made some corrections to the transcription. Here you go…

Maa Kho Baraan Ka Che Waregama Pe Khkulee Mekh,
Bya Me Janaan Ka Che Gerzegama Pe Sawee Makh.
Za Kho Zaaregam Qurbaanegam Dagha Shondo Rang,
De Yaar Sara Me Ka Malgaro Delta Shoma Tang.

Ooh Qaraara Raasha… Ooh Qaarara Raasha
Ooh Qaraara Raasha… Ooh Qaarara Raasha

Wrek Sho Ghamoona Che Khkaara Sho Dagha Khkule Mekh,
Bya Gham Taaza Sho Che Pana Sho Dagha Storey Mekh.
Ke De Ashnaa Kem Jorrawema De Khoboono Mahal,
Ke De Pradey Kema Da Ghama Ba Rekhtoono Mahal.

Ooh Qaraara Raasha… Ooh Qaarara Raasha
Ooh Qaraara Raasha… Ooh Qaarara Raasha

Ze Kho Ghani Yem Armaani Yem Dagha Shondo Jaam,
Ze Kho Maftoon Yem Lewaney Yem De Janaan Pe Naam.
Ze Kho Khatir Yema Meena Ze Pe Speena Krrem,
Ze Ismail Yema Meena Ze Pe Weena Krrem.

Ooh Qaraara Raasha… Ooh Qaarara Raasha
Ooh Qaraara Raasha… Ooh Qaarara Raasha

Maa Kho Baraan Ka Che Waregama Pe Khkulee Mekh,
Bya Me Janaan Ka Che Gerzegama Pe Sawee Mekh.
Za Kho Zaaregam Qurbaanegam Dagha Shondo Rang,
De Yaar Sara Me Ka Malgaro Delta Shoma Tang.

There’s also an English translation available but the two verses are missing…

Turn me into droplets of rain so I dribble the pretty face,
Then coat me with dearness so I wander around the baked face.
I adore and love the crimson layer on her lips,
And I seek the company of my friends for I’m world-weary.

O serenity, embrace me! O serenity, embrace me!
O serenity, embrace me! O serenity, embrace me!

Begone are melancholies as the angel face rears it’s head,
And when it subsides back, melancholies rejoin.
(missing)
(missing)

O serenity, embrace me! O serenity, embrace me!
O serenity, embrace me! O serenity, embrace me!

I’m “Ghani” for I long for the goblet of beloved’s lips,
I’m “Maftoon” for I break through sanity for the sake of my love.
I’m “Khatir” for my love is pure,
I’m “Ismail” for I love with my dripping blood.

O serenity, embrace me! O serenity, embrace me!
O serenity, embrace me! O serenity, embrace me!

Turn me into droplets of rain so I dribble the pretty face,
Then coat me with dearness so I wander around the baked face.
I adore and love the crimson layer on her lips,
And I seek the company of my friends for I’m world-weary.

O serenity, embrace me! O serenity, embrace me!
O serenity, embrace me! O serenity, embrace me!

Pakistani soldiers enter a building and interrogate the male residents, asking for information on the Taliban. They don’t get the answers they’re looking for so the head of that group orders his subordinates to beat the men. The men are begging for mercy while they get kicked, whipped and hit everywhere but the soldiers are ignoring them and keep on torturing them. One of the brave soldiers shows his female side by pulling his victim’s hair. The most gruesome part comes at the end, when an old man is beaten up while he’s begging for mercy for them to let go of him and screaming “Ya Allah, Ya Allah”.
In war times torturers and those that commit crimes often try to play down their guilt by claiming they were ordered to do what they did but if you have a closer look at the soldiers in this video you will see that some of them really enjoy what they’re doing.

Two of the four beaten men are elderly men that could be your or my grandfather but torturers are not exactly known for their sense of honour so they ignore their pleas for mercy. I’ve been harrassed, blackmailed and chased through Peshawar by the Pakistani police myself so I can tell you one thing: stuff like this is very common over there. In Pakistan, when people speak about the police, they don’t call them “cops” but “dogs”.

Make a right-click here and and choose “Save as…” to download the Video.

The message the American government tries to convey doesn’t make sense when it claims that those torturing orgies were the deeds of a few individuals that ran out of control. Apparently there’s a scheme behind this as every U.S. military prison, be it Abu Ghraib, Bagram or Guantanamo, has “a few individuals” that permanently run “out of control”. In addition to that it fits into the strategy that the Strategic Command (STRATCOM) has carefully worded in one of its investigations in 1995 called “Essentials of Post-Cold War Deterrence” (PDF-Document), which actually refers to the U.S. nuclear strategy in a post-cold war world – but still relates to this very same idea of acting unpredictable and being irrational:

“Because of the value that comes from the ambiguity of what the U.S. may do to an adversary if the acts we seek to deter are carried out, it hurts to portray ourselves as too fully rational and cool-headed…”
[...]
“The fact that some elements may appear to be potentially “out of control” can be beneficial to creating and reinforcing fears and doubts within the minds of an adversary’s decision makers. This essential sense of fear is the working force of deterrence. That the U.S. may become irrational and vindictive if its vital interests are attacked should be a part of the national persona we project to all adversaries.”

To put it another way: just because the “Axis of Good” is bombing the middle-east and Afghanistan into a nicely levelled, peaceful, McDonalds parking-lot it doesn’t mean that they’re acting democratically – according to their self-conception.

… reminds me of what pacifists say: “Fighting for peace is like f4v”.

Curious as I am I took a look at their website and, besides all the logos of the Department of Defense scattered all over their pages, I ran across this piece of text:

“The mission of the DLIFLC is to educate, sustain, evaluate, and support foreign language specialists under the guidelines of the Defense Foreign Language Program, which provides the Department of Defense and other Federal agencies with linguists fully capable of supporting United States national interests worldwide.”

So basically I would have helped the American military in their efforts to develop the Dari language skills of their spies, agents and soldiers that are responsible for the killing of tens of thousands of Afghans during their attack on Afghanistan, burning killed Muslims, killing crowds of children with grenades, keeping “ghost prisons” and torture and rape men, women and children.

Needless to say that I sent her a negative reply:

“Dear <Name removed>,

I took a look at your employers website and I’m afraid I can’t help you.
I do not agree with the U.S. policy in regard to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, an information you can also read about on my website sherzad.com, and I have serious reservations against helping the DoD in any way – directly or indirectly. If the DLIFLC was a “regular” company – not related to the American military – I would have been more than glad to help you. Unfortunately the American military is directly responsible for arresting, torturing and killing some of my relatives and family friends and this is keeping me from helping them.

Thank you for your understanding,
Rias A. Sherzad”

Of course me rejecting their request won’t change anything in regard to how the world goes. But the American military must be very used to Afghans helping them achieve their aims. They sure do. Who else does the translating on Guantanamo Bay and on the Bagram Airbase if not such be-namos (be = without) Afghan traitors that the Afghan history is full with?

“Tourism was once a major industry for Afghanistan. In the 1960s and 1970s the country was a key stopping point on the Hippy Trail from Europe to India – famed for its spectacular scenery, ancient ruins and local intoxicants.”

Alright.

Now imagine if you will, a group of shirtless American tourists (let’s say: Republican males from Texas), aged 50-60, sporting black sunglasses, cowboy hats, and tropically-patterned Hawaiin shorts (a look they so naturally are comfortable in even in a covered Muslim country) collecting “souvenirs” from the mountains of Tora Bora.

Welcome to your choice of Tora Bora souvenirs: warm fertile mud, a refreshingly high altitude, Osama’s dialysis machine, and highly explosive remainders of the American B-52s “Daisy-Cutter” bombs.
Or for more innocent souvenirs, and for the entertainment pleasure of their own young, they could enthusiastically collect a few of those butterfly-like “toys” that the Russians ever so graciously plotted all over Afghanistan for the eradication of Afghan kids.

Ultimately no matter what is collected, they would be actively engaging in Afghanistan’s de-mining efforts. And that is a raison d’être both for transforming Tora Bora into a tourist attraction and incorporating a voluntary draft for such shirtless American tourists.

Along that same generous token, other allies in the 2001 war against Afghanistan should get visas and invitations as well, so they can collect and bring back with them the dangerous goods they so altruistically bestowed upon Afghanistan.

The AJP’s statement to this enterprise is:
“The objective of the project is to provide needed documentation for Afghans about the crimes of the past so that if there comes a time when Afghans want to pursue justice or a reconciliation process, the means to establish an objective historical record will be available.”

Inasmuch as the report condems present members of the Afghan government as responsible for war crimes, many of the Afghans taking part in the AJP – in fear of retaliation – have decided to stay unknown to the public. This first report concentrates on the time-period 1992 – 2001.

Now that the “democratically” elected administration has the tool (the AJP) to bring these criminals to justice, it is highly unlikely that President Karzai will utilize it – as evidenced by Karzai’s hasty decision to have Abdullah Shah – a former commander of the Wahabbi-group of Abdul Rasul Sayyaf – executed after a dubious, but speedy trial. Karzai simply executing a witness to these crimes leaves me exploring conspiracies. While admitting his guilt without neither remorse or a fight for his innocence, he could have taken part in identifying some of those that committed or ordered the subject atrocities. Shah’s admission and assistance could have assisted in bringing down some of those mass murderers.

Now, please tell me how fruitful the elimination of the Wahabbi-influenced Taliban was when we have the cause of the Taliban’s rise sitting in top governmental positions?

Being an Afghan/Pashtoon myself and understanding the intricate and imbalanced Afghan culture and traditions, I am convinced that this magic number of 42% was never reached. Especially among the Pashtoons – that represent 42% of the total population – allowing women to participate in elections is highly unlikely…

10.4 million registered voters?

Pursuant to the CIA world factbook Afghanistan has an estimated population of 28.5 million, 15 million of them are 15 years or older. We’ll subtract another 2 million that are younger than 18 years so we have 13 million Afghans left that have the right to vote.

10.4 million of those 13 million received their registration cards – despite the intimidation of the conservative Afghan culture and very real threats of the Taliban to swiftly and without prejudice kill anyone that participates in the elections?

Thanks for the facts U.N, but we’re not buying.